Release Date: September 26, 2014
MPAA Rating: R
Runtime: 131 Mins.
Director: Antoine Fuqua
Genre: Action
Stars: Denzel Washington, Marton Csokas, Chloe Grace Moretz
Your Rating: (4 out of 5 stars) Denzel shows he’s still a bad ass even as he ages.
The Equalizer is a movie that I had been looking forward to. And to tell you the truth, it did not disappoint. It had everything I expected in it action, violence and Denzel being as cool as ever. When I heard that he was an ex-CIA agent on a warpath to protect a young girl, thoughts of Man on Fire ran through my mind. Well, Man on Fire this isn’t.
Denzel Washington as Robert McCall is si
mply put, kick ass. The contrast between his extra nice mystery man and the killer he was trained to be is stark and unsettling after getting to know him as the mild mannered hardware store worker. I almost didn’t like the character as he perpetrated his extreme acts of violence without emotion on his face. But he’s undeniably a good guy so you can’t help but like him. Marton Csokas as the baddie in this movie is good as he is a darkside to Washington’s light. Chloe Grace-Moretz is only on the movie for a few scenes but she uses her time well.
The action, is hard and no frills. Washington is brutal in his handling of the opposition. Broken arms, necks, gouged eyes are normal in this film and it fits perfectly. Washington has been trained to kill and kill efficiently. He often times himself in fights to test his skills.The bad guy is just as cold except where McCall can switch to good guy mood, Csokas’ Teddy is a sociopath of the highest caliber. There is no good in him.
The weakness of this movie is that it under utilizes the so called stars it advertises. Other than that it’s entertaining as hell. Washington delivers a grand performance but the movie is nowhere near as good as Man on Fire where he played a similar character. If you love Denzel and love Denzel murdering the crap out of people then this film is for you.
